


Caramel for Lester

by dont-tell-them-i-write-phan (QueenBoudicatheGreat)



Series: University AU [2]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Coffee Shops, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-11
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2019-02-28 14:08:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13273065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenBoudicatheGreat/pseuds/dont-tell-them-i-write-phan
Summary: Dan and Phil go on that coffee date.





	Caramel for Lester

**Author's Note:**

> Posted to dont-tell-them-i-write-phan 3/30/15

It was snowing. That wasthe first thing Phil noticed as he stepped outside to wait for Dan. The soft white flakes danced around in the cold air swirling around one another in dizzying patterns. It must have started recently, Phil reasoned, seeing as the white pavement was still relatively bare.

“Holy fuck, it’s cold as tits out here!”

Phil ripped his attention away from the snow to grin back at Dan who had just emerged from the warmth of the lecture hall. The younger man was bright red, either from the cold or Phil’s mirth at his outburst. His lithe form was shrouded in layers upon layers of coats and jumpers, all in more shades of black and grey than Phil had ever seen in one place and his hair was covered by a hat of brown fur that Phil somehow knew would be soft as a kitten. “Come on,” Phil said, cocking his head back towards the grounds. “If we hurry we might actually find a place to sit.” Dan smiled shyly, burying his smile in his scarf before following along.

The small amount of snow that had survived the fall to the pavement crunched beneath their booted feet as they walked along. They had never been this quiet for this long before, Phil noted, and the silence was a weight that pressed down on his chest and ears like he’d been underwater for too long and was desperate for air to once again fill his lungs to the bursting.  _Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea_  Phil thought as a nervous bile rose in the back of his throat, burning the back of his nose and agitating his eyes. After all, they’d only known each other for a couple weeks, and in those weeks they’d communicated primarily through passed notes; who’s to say that they’d even get along outside of the classroom? Dan was probably already regretting his decision. Dan would probably never speak to him again. He’d probably move up to the front of the classroom and-

Suddenly, Phil felt Dan’s hand grab his own.

Startled, Phil looked down at their hands and back up to Dan’s face which was once again bright red and facing anywhere but Phil. Phil just beamed and intertwined their fingers. He felt every doubt and fear that had built and built and built on his shoulders magically vanish and he felt like he could fly. He took in a deep breath of cold air that cut his cheeks and mouth and nose like tiny knives, but there was a solid steady warmth that was radiating from Dan’s hand in his that filled his chest with a bright fire that no winter wind could extinguish. Beside him Dan looked at him with a small smile and stars in his eyes. Phil grinned at him and pulled him towards the buzzing cafe.

 As soon as they crossed the threshold of the dining room they were bombarded by the wall of warmth that enveloped them like a warm blanket. From all sides people were moving in and around each other, forcing them close together. The constant clamor of voices and clinking silverware danced with the bright sweet scents of coffee and pastries.

Dan tugged on his sleeve and Phil leaned in close to hear what the younger man had to say. “I’ve never been here before,” Dan confessed. His lips and breath brushed against Phil’s ear causing him to shiver. Dan smiled. “What do you suggest I get?” 

Throughout their - admittedly short - relationship Dan had always been the one blushing while Phil watched in amusement, but now Phil felt the sharp sticky heat of embarrassment climb up his neck and to his ears while Dan’s eyes lit up with mirth. “I- uh- I always get a caramel latte,” he finally managed to stutter out after swallowing the lump in his throat several times.

Dan beamed at him, brown eyes crinkling in the corner. On the soft curves of his cheeks a dimple Phil had never seen before suddenly popped into existence. “I love caramel drinks.”

“Great minds think alike.”

Dan just stepped closer to him with a soft pleased look on his face. Phil felt his heart flutter madly beneath his ribcage and rested his head on Dan’s furry hat. (He was right. It was soft as a kitten’s fur.) Together they stepped forwards until it was their turn.

Behind the bar a girl their age looked up from her register and sent them a bright smile full of gleaming teeth. “Hello, Phil!” she said, tucking a wild curl back behind her ear. “Same as usual? And what for your friend here?”

“He’ll have the same, Kate,” Phil nodded. “And can we also get a couple of the cinnamon scones?”

“Right then, that will be eight pound seventy!”

Phil pulled out his wallet, ignoring Dan’s squawk of protest. He handed over a tenner and shot a quick, “Always nice to see you!” which Kate returned before pulling Dan along towards his favorite corner. With a mischievous grin, he quickly sat on one of the overly squishy couches there and yanked Dan’s arm, laughing at the startled look on the younger’s face as he fell across Phil’s lap. Dan gave him a red faced dirty look as he sat back up but there was a sparkle in those caramel eyes that let Phil know he wasn’t really upset. “I hate you,” he declared, wriggling back into the cushions to properly encase himself in the soft warmth.

“But I bought you coffee!” Phil protested with a grin. “You can’t hate people who buy you coffee. The Queen said so. I asked her myself.”

Dan’s laugh wasn’t pretty. It burst out of his mouth like a over filled water balloon and there was an almost startled look on his face after its stuttered start as if he hadn’t given it permission to pass his lips. It was loud and obnoxious enough to garner the confused looks of the patrons closest to them, causing Dan to quickly shut his mouth and cover it with a hand. Phil adored it and vowed at that moment to make Dan laugh as often as possible.

“Two caramel lattes and scones for Phil Lester?”

The both of them glanced up when the scratchy voice rang out over the intercom. Phil stood and with a quick grin at Dan he left to retrieve their drinks.

Kate was standing there with a grin and two coffee cups in her hands. The dark skin of her cheeks was scrunched together around a wide grin. “How’s the date going?” she teased, with a saucy wink.

Phil blushed darkly and attempted to grab his drinks which Kate playfully pulled out of his reach. “It’d go better if I could bring him the coffee I promised,” he grouched, settling for rescuing his scones from her evil clutches.

Kate rolled her eyes and relinquished her prisoners. “Don’t mess this up, Lester,” she said gently. “I’ve seen you drink alone far too often.”

Phil just nodded before returning to Dan who was tapping on his phone screen with his lower lip tight between his teeth. When Phil coughed he looked up and weirdly delight and distress were twisting his features. “I was worried you might have run off with the barista,” he joked hollowly, taking the offered pastry and drink.

Phil took a sip of his drink and as always the sweet warmth flooded his senses, but this time it was muted as he watched Dan anxiously crumble his scone and cast furtive glances at the phone in his pocket. Phil’s heart fell and he almost felt sick with the disappointment roiling in his stomach. He couldn’t help but replay every moment of their time together, desperately trying to figure out where he had gone wrong. Maybe a coffee shop was too cliché? Had he been a little too familiar with the teasing? Everything had been going so well. “You can go if you’re not having any fun, you know,” Phil said quietly, pretending it was the scone that had caused his mouth to go so dry all of the sudden.

Dan looked up at him, looking surprisingly betrayed. “Do you want me to go?” he asked, forehead crumpled. “I’m sorry for whatever I did. I promise I won’t do it anymore.”

“You’re the one who keeps looking at his phone like it’s going to throw you a lifeline,” Phil accused, trying not to sound too bitter.

“My friend Louise just went into labor!” Dan blurted before slapping his hands to his mouth.

“What!?”

“She’s not due for another couple weeks, but Jack just texted me saying that the baby’s coming early,” Dan explained. “It’s just that she’s my best friend and I’m worried about her.”

“We need to get you to the hospital!” Phil exclaimed, bundling his remaining scone into a napkin and grabbing Dan’s as well. He threw their trash away before turning around to see Dan who was still sitting where he left him with his mouth gaping open. “Come on, then!”

That finally got Dan moving. “But what about our date?”

Phil almost laughed. “Dan, there are things much more important than a coffee date, and your best friend giving birth is one of them.”

Dan looked at him like he had just finished hanging the stars before suddenly flinging his arms around Phil’s neck. “Thank you for understanding,” he said before placing a quick kiss on his cheek. He pulled out a crumpled piece of notebook paper and shoved it in Phil’s hands. “Text me?” he asked hopefully and when Phil shakily nodded he beamed and darted back out into the snow.

Silence had fallen over the cafe and Phil reached up to cup the hand that wasn’t desperately clutching what he assumed was Dan’s phone number. Then from the bar he heard a familiar voice shout “ATTA BOY, LESTER!” causing everyone else to let out a loud cheer. But every whoop and holler fell on deaf ears as Phil carefully unwadded his newest note.

_Not that passing notes hasn’t been fun, but it’s kind of silly that we haven’t already done this. Text me! - Dan_


End file.
